Falling Up
by AshleyNicole86
Summary: Steph finds herself very much apart of Ranger's life, just when she doesn't wan't to be. BABE! *Rating change to M*
1. Chapter 1

**Yeah, yeah, crazy as the day is long, thats me. Enjoy!

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**July 21st and 22nd**

I'd had a lot of 'well fuck me' moments in life, more and more lately but I think this one took the cake. I'd just thrown up on Tank during the morning meeting. But even that wasn't really the 'well fuck me' moment, just what had led to it.

I walked unsteadily to the bathroom and locked the door, leaving Tank and the rest of the guys looking dumb-fucked in the conference room. They looked how I felt. I'd been firmly in denial-land for the past few weeks but I knew I needed to dig my head out of the sand and figure this thing out.

Maybe I wasn't pregnant. Maybe I had typhoid fever or malaria, or even cancer. It could be any of those. No reason to assume the worst. Of course this was me, Stephanie Plum. The worst had a way of sneaking up on me and biting me in the ass. Or sometimes walking up in broad day light and punching me in the face.

I'd like to say that a sense of calm washed over me as I left the bathroom, that I walked out onto five and apologized and went back to work and figure out my life. In reality I walked out, threw up in a wastepaper basket and then ran to my Rangeman car and took off for a CVS that was far enough away from Trenton that hopefully I wouldn't be recognized.

And now the pregnancy tests were staring at me. Mocking me. Okay maybe not mocking. I was confused though. The price range was ridiculous. Anywhere from five to thirty bucks. I grabbed a few different ones and took them to the checkout. I used my Rangeman card after checking to make sure that there was no way anyone could find out what I had purchased. I figured that if Ranger had knocked me up he could at least pay for the tests.

Yeah yeah, it takes two to tango and all of that. I know that. But Ranger knows I'm a lightweight and still bought me a few too many shots. And then the next morning he said he'd made a huge mistake and left. I was still pretty pissed about that. Asshole.

I took the freeway back to Trenton and headed towards Rangeman. I'd moved into a Rangeman apartment a few weeks before, after my building had been flooded by old Mrs. Bestler. The whole building was now condemned. Luckily the Rangeman apartment was bigger and much nicer than my former home, and I'd conned Tank into including rent as part of my benefits package. I parked next to Ranger's Porsche and gave it a dirty look.

I pushed the up button for the elevator and tried to step on when the doors opened but walked into Tank. My bag went flying and pregnancy tests scattered on the elevator floor. I made an eep sound that could've come from Carl the monkey and scrambled to pick them up before the guys manning the comm. station could see what they were. I wasn't fast enough to hide them from Tank who, for the second time today, looked dumbstruck. He got back into the elevator and pushed four. Crap. He was going to come with me. He followed me inside and sat down on a bar stool while I grabbed us some bottles of water.

"Are you pregnant Steph?" Tank asked. He sounded concerned.

"Maybe."

"Joe's?" He made it a question even though he thought he knew the answer.

"No." I watched him carefully as a look of shock passed over his features before his blank face slammed into place. He raised an eye brow at me. "It was a one night thing. I think I'm on my own for this one," I finally said with a sigh. I gave him a sharp look. "You can't tell anyone! I swear to god Tank, if one person finds out about this I'll stun gun you when you're not expecting it and cut off your balls!" Tank had the good sense to look frightened.

"You don't even know if you're pregnant," he said.

I sighed, yeah I did, but I guess I needed to be sure. I grabbed the bags of tests and went into the bathroom. Tank got up and I looked at him, "I think I can do this on my own." He nodded sheepishly and sat back down.

I peed on two of the sticks and sat them on the counter. It had been well over five months since I'd broken up with Joe, if I was pregnant it wasn't his. It had been six weeks since the night with Ranger, and five since he'd left. I checked the time every few seconds and finally the three minutes had passed. I picked up the tests and flipped them over. Two lines on both.

"Fuck. Me." I tossed them in the trash and walked back out to the living room and to the kitchen. I grabbed a bottle of tequila and poured a shot. I handed it to Tank. "Drink this for me."

"Sorry Steph…"

"Hey at least I've got really good health insurance, and maternity leave!" I said with a light smile. I wanted to ask badly when Ranger was coming back but I didn't want to tip off Tank. If the guys knew then they'd want him to take responsibility and I didn't want to be Ranger's next Rachael.

Tank stood up, "You need anything?"

"Nope I'm fine," I said and followed him to the door.

He gave me an awkward hug, "If you need anything…"

"I'll let you know. Thanks," I said. He gave a brief nod and walked out.

Denial land was calling and I went willingly enough before crawling into bed. My dreams were about Ranger. Okay so I was mad at him and hurt, but I still loved him, and now it looked like he would be the father of my child. Not that he would know that. Uh uh. I wasn't saddling him with more responsibility that he didn't want.

I woke up at five thinking I'd go back to sleep but my stomach had other ideas so I started my day early. I ate some frosted mini wheats (the healthiest cereal I had) and put on my gym clothes. I called the elevator and fiddled with my iPod. The doors opened and I stepped on without looking.

"Babe."

I dropped my iPod and screamed. Oops. I really needed to stop doing that. "Uh, hi Ranger. When did you uh get back?" I asked. The doors shut and I forgot to push the button to take me to the gym. I guess I was going to seven with Ranger. Eeps.

"Just now. Look, I'm sorry about what happened before I left. I…it was my fault. Can we still be friends?" He asked as he led me into his apartment.

I nodded. What else could I do? "Uh huh. Sure. Friends." I nodded like an idiot again. "So are you back for a while?" I asked as he stripped off his shirt. Wow. Ok. Calm down Steph. He wants to be friends which means you can't jump him.

"Only for a few weeks." He didn't offer more information so I nodded. "So you're working here full time?"

"Yeah…I'm still doing skips for Vinnie on weekends…its really slow right now…" I was wondering if he was going to comment on my outrageous salary or benefits but he didn't say anything as he walked out of his closet in some running shorts and shoes.

"Come on, after this we've got the morning meeting. I've got some important stuff to go over," Ranger said. I followed him out and even took the stairs with him. Tank was waiting in the center of the mats for Ranger and I hopped on the treadmill and watched them spar for a while. They were taking it easy today and I could tell that Ranger was tired.

Oh no, I wasn't about to start feeling for Ranger. I was exhausted and couldn't keep a damn thing down. Of course he's probably spent the last few weeks trekking through a jungle or desert or something. Still I wasn't sure that was worse than having to alternately pee or throw up every twenty minutes.

I was starting to feel tired so I hopped off the treadmill. Ranger stopped to look at me, "You're only going to do twenty minutes?"

"Hey I need more time get presentable then you two!" I took off and ran up the stairs, barely making into my apartment and that bathroom before getting sick again. I got ready and made it downstairs a few minutes before the meeting was supposed to start. Tank was already seated. He eyed me and I stared down at my paper. He was trying to get my attention when Ranger showed up to call the meeting to order.

"Alright, I'm back but only for about three weeks. Which means we have three weeks to teach Steph how to run this place. As of today she is vice president of operations along with Tank. She holds all your jobs in her pretty little hands, so start sucking up now. Any questions?"

I continued doodling on my piece of paper. I didn't have any questions. Ranger was back, yada, yada, yada, I was in charge, yada, yada, "WHAT?" I asked and jerked my head up to look at Ranger.

"Thanks for joining us. I said I'm making you VP. Have a problem with that?" He said.

"Uh…" I said eloquently.

"Okay good. Let's move on." Ranger went over a bunch of stuff for the next half an hour but I was trying to figure out the whole me being VP thing still. Everyone left the room but I snaked an arm around Ranger's waist before he could go. "Yeah babe?"

The 'babe' made my mind go blank and I had to take a second to gather my thoughts, "I can't do that…I don't know how…you should get someone competent," I finally choked out.

"You are competent. More than. I'll teach you everything you need to know before I go to Miami. I'm going to be visiting Julie for a few weeks."

I nodded, "that's good, she misses you." Ranger raised an eyebrow at me. Oops. "We email sometimes…Rachael said it was okay…"

Ranger smiled and nodded, "so please except the position? It comes with a pay raise and everything." Ranger smiled again. It was unnerving.

"You scare me when you're trying to be charming." I was rewarded with an actual Ranger laugh. Cripes.

"Let's get to work," Ranger said. "Time for you to learn Rangeman's innermost secrets."

Too bad you'll still be the man of mystery, I thought.

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**Worth continuing? **


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: I've aged Julie, but all the other characters remain their usual ages.**

**Thanks for all the reviews!!! I love you guys!**

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**August 5th**

The air conditioner wasn't working in the Rangeman building for some reason and I was slowly being roasted alive in my new office. Ranger had said it would be fixed soon, the guy was here now. I had my doubts.

Ranger was supposed to leave in a week and I wasn't positive I could handle the whole running the company thing yet. He told me not to worry, Tank would be here too. That didn't instill much confidence in me; Tank was acting like a nut anytime he came near me. He'd pulled out my chair for me at the meeting this morning. I think Ranger knew something was up.

Frankly I wasn't sure that Ranger wasn't just doing all this to fuck with the guys. They were having a little trouble to adjusting to having me as an authority figure. Hell he might've been doing it to fuck with me. Not that he hadn't already done that enough.

At least no one was wondering why I wasn't out running around after skips, Ranger was keeping me way too busy.

"Steph?" Ranger's voice drug me out of my stupor.

I smiled, "Sorry, I think I went to lala land there for a minute."

"It's OK Babe. I was asking-" Rangers phone rang and cut him off he let out a soft curse and flipped it open.

"Hello?" Must not have been a number he recognized. "Yes this is Ricardo." I glanced up, even the people that didn't call him Ranger never called him Ricardo, he was Ric or Carlos. This must be a stranger. I watched as his blank face slammed down. "Is Julie okay? Uh huh. I can be there before morning. This number? Thank you." Ranger hung up and looked at me.

"I've got to go to Miami. There was an accident. Rachael and her husband died." His voice was quiet; the only hint of emotion being displayed came from him his unusually hitched voice.

"Oh god, is Julie okay?" I asked

Ranger nodded, "She's fine. She wasn't with them. I have to go though. I don't know how long I'll be gone." He was already walking out the door. I followed him to the elevator and got on. He looked at me. "I need to…uh…I need…fuck!"

I grabbed a hold of his shoulders, "Ranger! Get a grip. Julie is fine. I'm very sorry about Rachael, but you need to focus on Julie. When we get upstairs, pack a bag, I'll call the airline and get you a ticket." Before I knew what I was doing I had him wrapped in a hug. His arms went around me and his lips peppered kisses on my hair.

"Thank you Stephanie. I don't know what I would do without you." The elevator opened and we exited without my having to answer.

I dialed the airline and got Ranger a flight that left in two hours. "I'll drive you. I have an appointment in that area anyway."

Ranger gave me a quick look as we hopped into my car, "What appointment?"

Crap. "Just a yearly check up. Don't worry, I'll take care of everything while you're gone," I said, changing the subject quickly. Ranger nodded but didn't respond, he was in his zone already.

I said goodbye to him at the curb and he gave me a half hearted smile, "Babe…I…I'll uh see you soon." He angled out and was gone before I could blink. Cripes.

I hoped Julie was okay. It had taken her a while to get over the Scrog incident. Well to get past it, she'd probably never be over it. Hell even I wasn't over it. Thank god she had Ranger. Fifteen years with her mother wasn't nearly enough, but at least she had her father.

My appointment wasn't for another few hours and it wasn't anywhere near the airport, it was in Princeton. I still had a few hours once I got there so I drove around aimlessly, checking out the town. I'd never really cared much about where I lived before, Trenton, the Burg, was just fine to me. But Princeton, with its clean and manicured yards, amazing campuses and cute little business areas was beautiful and…homey.

Part of my brain recognized every time I drove past a for sale sign on one of the homes as I drove towards the little area of shops and offices that Dr. Fernandez's practice was located in. The locations of the homes for sale automatically filed themselves in the back of my mind and I didn't have time to wonder why before I arrived at my destination.

The office reminded me of Rangeman, it seemed likely that the same person had designed to the two buildings. It put me on guard instantly. I signed in and looked around. There were two other women in the waiting room. One was the quintessential beautiful pregnant woman. She was poised, the only part of her that looked pregnant was her belly and she glowed in her designer clothes. I sighed, I was barely pregnant and I looked like hell. I'd gained two pounds, and my glow was more of a sickly green color.

While I waited I read some of the magazines sitting on the table. I read an article entitled "20 things no one tells you about pregnancy and birth" and then wished I hadn't. I figured the reason know one told you those things was cause if you knew them before you were pregnant you'd get fixed.

"Stephanie?" I looked up to see a woman in scrubs holding a clipboard. I followed her we did the dreaded weight height measurement and then I answered about a million questions.

I don't understand the whole paper smock thing. "Oh here is something to wear, it won't cover you and it will make your ass itch." What the hell is that? I think it's just something that doctors laugh about behind the patient's backs.

There was a knock and then the doctor came in. She was tall and very beautiful, with curly brown hair and gorgeous brown eyes that were very familiar. "Hi I'm Doctor Fernandez. And you must be the infamous Stephanie Plum."

Uh oh. That was never a good start to a conversation. I hadn't blown up anything recently so she must know me from one of my past stints as Trenton's Bombshell Bounty Hunter. "Uh…I am yes. I swear I'll try to stop blowing stuff up now that I'm pregnant!"

Dr. Fernandez raised an eyebrow, "Carlos is right, you do have spunk."

My eyes widened as I watched her flip through my chart. "Carlos…as in Manoso?" I asked wearily. Cripes. How the hell did she know Ranger? And why was he talking about me?

She laughed, "Yes, that Carlos. I'm his sister, Isabel." Ah. That's why her eyes were familiar; I'd looked in eyes just like them a million times. Isabel's eyes were less battle hardened but the compassion I saw in them was equaled by the compassion I'd seen in Ranger's.

"It's nice to meet you," I said after a few moments. I wasn't quite sure what to do. I was feeling a little awkward; I had no idea what Ranger had told his sister about me.

"Nice to finally meet you too Stephanie. So…is the baby's daddy going to be joining us today?" She asked.

I smiled, "No…he's not really in the picture…" She gave me a sharp look and raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm okay. So what is my brother doing today?" She asked as she wrapped a blood pressure cuff around my arm.

"I uh…I just dropped him off at the airport. Crap, uh Rachael was in an accident, Ranger went to Miami to be with Julie," I told her. I didn't know if Ranger would want me sharing this information and I was a little hesitant about it. She finished pumping the cuff and took it off my arm before making a note on the chart.

"Oh no. Is Rachael…?" She looked sad but not upset, obviously she hadn't known her brothers ex-wife. I shook my head and she sighed. "Poor Julie." Isabel motioned for me to lay back and she put my legs in the stirrups. "So…who is the baby's father?" I was surprised she asked outright. Actually no, she was related to Ranger, so I wasn't surprised. "And why do you call my brother Ranger? Usually his friends call him Carlos or Ric."

"Er…I've always just called him Ranger. It fits him, and even when I see him do completely un-Ranger like things, he's still Ranger to me."

Isabel grinned at me from between my legs, "Alright. Let's talk about the baby. From what you've told us you're at nine weeks, everything seems to be good. Any morning sickness?"

I nodded, "Except now it's mostly at night. I haven't been sleeping well." Probably that had something to do with the fact that I knew Ranger was only a few floors above me. In bed. Naked. Cripes. I felt myself turn red.

"That's a common problem." She gave me some hints on helping the nausea, gave me some prenatal vitamins and set up an appointment for my first ultrasound for 3 weeks later.

I turned before I left the office, "Please, don't tell Ranger. I want to keep working for as long as I can and knowing him…" I said.

She laughed, "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. As long as you're not in any danger its perfectly fine for you to work right up to your due date."

I thanked her and headed out to my car. I was still several rows away when it exploded in a spectacular fireball. I watched as pieces of my Rangeman vehicle flew through the air and caught other cars on fire. I knew what came next. I did a quick scan to make sure the other cars were all empty as people started coming out of the building.

I motioned for everyone to stand back and took out my cell phone to call 911 as another car blew up, causing all the people around me to scream and run back inside. Isabel came out and stood next to me and we watched a Mercedes blow up. "Yeah, Ranger mentioned that you blow stuff up a lot." She said as we watched a BMW with a plate reading "BabyDoc" catch one fire. Isabel grimaced.

"Sorry about your car…" I smiled, "You know, this is a record for me."

"I can see why my brother grins and shakes his head in disbelief a lot when talking about you," Isabel said.

"Ranger grins?" I asked with wide eyes. Wow.

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**So are we still on track? Is the storyline good? **


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks _again_ for all the reviews! You guys totally rock! i'm glad everyone is licking the story. I'll let you know now, there is a rocky road a head, but I think eventually a HEA will be insight. Have fun!

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**August 18th**

It had been almost two weeks since Ranger had left and I'd blown up a slew of cars in his sisters, my obstetrician's, parking lot. Two weeks since Lester and Bobby came to pick me up. Two weeks since they'd found out that I was pregnant, and since I found out that Lester was married to Ranger's other sister. It's a small world after all.

So far though both men had taken my warning to heart. I'd told them that if anyone, including Ranger, found out I was pregnant, I would cut off their balls, sauté them and make them eat them for dinner. It was actually helpful having them know, at least I was getting extra protection, and Bobby had bought me several mommy-to-be books.

We were in the middle of the morning meeting when my cell phone started playing the theme for Batman. I held up my hand to hush Tank and flipped it open. "Yo."

"That's my line," Ranger said. He sounded stressed, tired, and his voice made my heart skip a beat. Damn. Double damn. Why did I have to want someone who didn't want me back? Who couldn't be bothered to return a phone call for two weeks? Gah.

"Yeah, well since I'm running your company…" I trailed off, now wasn't really the time to bitch at him. It wasn't his fault I was pregnant and hormonal. Oh wait. Yeah it was. Hmm. "How's Julie?" I asked.

"A teenager who just lost her Mom. Look, I want to bring her back, but I promised her she could finish up her dance internship thing here in Miami. It goes until October 30th. We'll fly back the next day. Everything going alright there?" October 31stst was about 10 weeks away. I'd be twenty one weeks and showing when Ranger got home. Hell I already was showing a little. I'd lost a lot of weight because of the morning sickness and there was a clearly protruding pointy bump jutting out from between my hips. Luckily it was easily hidden by wearing a shirt that wasn't skin tight. "Stephanie?"

"What? Oh! Crap! Sorry, I spaced. Everything is fine here. Busy ."

Ranger was silent for a moment and then sighed, "What aren't you telling me?"

Fuck, how did he do that? "Everything is fine. I'm just tired." It was true. I was exhausted. The 'morning' sickness had stopped but I was up every other hour peeing. I tossed and turned a good portion of the night and when I did sleep I was having vivid nightmares.

There was another sigh, "Alright, let me talk to Tank." Double damn. I handed the phone to Tank and listened to him talk to Ranger. There was a lot of 'uh-huhs' and' na-uhs' from Tanks end but there wasn't a word about me being pregnant. Of course Ranger could have asked 'is Stephanie knocked up with my illegitimate child?' and Tank could of said "uh huh" for all I knew. Tank suddenly thrust my phone back at me; I held it to my ear and listened. I heard, "Be safe," and then Ranger disconnected.

Tank went immediately back to talking. I tuned him out and thought about Ranger. I didn't want to tell him I was pregnant, and I certainly didn't want to tell him he was the father. Ranger's life was hard enough, especially now with Julie, and I didn't want to add to that. He didn't want any more children, or a wife, and I wasn't going to push it on him. I was enough of a nuisance in his life. At least I was helping him with Rangeman now. No longer was I just a giant red number on his budget sheets.

Okay, so maybe I was still a giant red number still. In fact, since my car had blown up I'd been tailed by no less than two Merry Men with me at all times. My car blowing up seemed to be an accident, but we all knew that one of my cars getting blown up on accident wasn't very likely. The point was that I didn't want to be any more of a strain on Ranger. Financially or emotionally.

I sat back and listened to Tank. Next thing I knew I was being picked up and carried out of the room. "What? Tank put me down!" I said as soon as I opened my eyes. When he didn't answer I shrugged and laid my head on his shoulder. I was tired and the free ride would be nice. He dropped me off at my door and I went in and fed Rex before falling asleep.

**September 13th**

This had to be a joke. I looked from Bobby to Lester and back again. "What do you mean I have to tell everyone?" I asked impatiently. "You can't tell me what to do!"

Bobby and Lester glanced at each other. "Bomber you haven't been outside of Rangeman for the last three weeks except to go to your doctor's appointments. Why is that?"

I stalled. I hadn't? Uh… "Well I've been busy…"

"Stephanie. You haven't left because you don't want to run into anyone. Everyone here is keeping your secret…but out there…"

"Hey only you two and Tank know!" I said defensively. Yeash.

Lester sighed, "Steph, everyone here knows you're pregnant."

"What?! How?" I asked angrily. I couldn't believe one of them had told. It would get back to Ranger for sure. Lester shook his head and hauled me to my feet. He pulled me around me desk and into my bathroom and pointed me towards the mirror and made me look at myself.

"You can't even button your damn pants! Last night you asked Hal to get you a Philly Cheesesteak at midnight. From Philly! This morning Ram said that you had a lot of sass and you yelled at him for an hour about saying you had a fat ass! They know you're pregnant. Hell they have a pool going to see who the baby's daddy is. They know not to tell Ranger. Which, by the way, is almost as stupid as you not telling your family. Maybe more stupid. Depends if the baby comes out with an Italian temper or a blank face." Lester ranted.

Whoa. All the Merry Men knew. Lester was sort of right. I knew I was looking a little pregnant…maybe it was why I hadn't left the building in…weeks…Damn. I hated when he was right. "I'm gonna need pants before I tell anyone," I said. Lester and Bobby both laughed like crazy.

I put on some yoga pants that fit below my belly and a black shirt and met the guys downstairs.

My mall trip went all too fast and soon I was being driven to my parent's house. We stopped at the Tasty Pastry on the way, I needed more moral support than Lester and Bobby could provide. I opened the door and ran smack into 6 feet of hard muscle and Italian libido. Well my belly ran into it. Causing owner of said body to step back and go "Holy Hell."

I gave a finger wave and all the sudden Joe was pulling me outside and to his car. I saw Lester open his door but I waved him off. I sat down in Joe's SUV and grinned at him. "Hi Joe."

"Cupcake…you're uh…is uh…wow…we can get married!" Joe finally spit out. He looked…hopeful. I felt bad ruining that dream for him, we wouldn't have a white picket fence. We had parted amicably, me unwilling to give up my job for marriage and a baby carriage, Joe unwilling to give up marriage and a baby carriage for me.

"Joe, the baby isn't yours, I'm only 15 weeks. I'm sorry," I said. His smile faltered slightly.

He sighed, "Ranger?" I nodded. "Anyone know?" I shook my head no. I was rewarded with another sigh. "Everyone will think its mine. Just let them think that for now. You don't need any extra stress."

I looked at Joe with wide eyes, "Seriously? Cause that would be awesome…Just for now…" I couldn't believe he was offering to be a…victim in what was soon to be a major gossip situation.

Joe smiled again, "Well…just until you tell whoever needs to be told."

There was a smile forming on my face when Lester tapped on my window. I jumped and then swore as Joe rolled it down. "Bomber, we've got a break in, I need to secure you at Rangeman."

I sighed, "Just drop me off at my parents. I need to get this over with." I'd barely gotten up the courage to do it this time.

Lester shook his head but Joe interrupted him before he could speak, "I'll take her and bring her back to Rangeman." Lester nodded and walked away. Oh god forbid I go by myself. Joe started up the SUV and I belted myself in.

My mom and grandma were waiting on the front stoop when we pulled up. They had some sort of Berg 6th sense that let them know when I was coming. I stepped out of the SUV and both their eyes immediately went to my stomach. My mom let out a scream that sounded like "FINALLY!" and rushed to hug me while yelling for my father.

Grandma eyed Joe with a grin, "I always knew your swimmers would do their job eventually!" she said. Joe looked at me scared and I shook my head. It had started.

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	4. Chapter 4

Have fun!!! Keep those reviews coming. They are my life's blood.

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**October 31st**

There were whales that were smaller than me. And I was only twenty-one weeks along. I had embraced my baby bump today though. I was dressed as Jeannie and my bare belly protruded proudly from my harem outfit. Ranger and Julie weren't getting in until the late night flight and I had plenty of time to get out of my outfit and change into something else before they arrive. Ranger still didn't know.

The madness over my pregnancy had died down in the past few weeks and everything seemed to be getting back to normal. I'd convinced my mom that Joe and I weren't getting married and the Merry Men had stopped threatening him with bodily harm. My morning sickness had vanished and I was damn good at running Rangeman. All and all life was looking up. Except for the ball of dread that was sitting in the middle of my stomach right now.

There was a knock on my door and I sighed. I'd asked Bobby to leave me alone ten time today. I pulled myself up and waddled over. I pulled the door open and found myself face to face with a very grown up looking Julie. Her eyes immediately went to my stomach and her mouth opened, "Holy shit."

"Julie don't swear," I heard Ranger say a second before he rounded the corner. "Oh holy fuck." He stared at me for a second and I gave him a little finger wave. "Julie. Go wait with the guys." He said and walked into my office, making me back up slowly. He shut and locked the door behind him. He crossed his arms, "Babe," was all he said before turning around and walking out.

I stormed after him, "CARLOS MANOSO DON'T YOU BABE ME AND WALK AWAY!" I yelled after him. I walked as fast as my legs would carry me and made it to the elevator just in time. "It's none of your business you know!" I said and poked Ranger in the chest, "what right do you have to be mad at me?" I asked angrily. When he didn't answer I poked him again, "That's right! None! You have no right!" Okay. So he did. But he didn't know he did.

Ranger pushed a button and the elevator stopped. "You look cute when you waddle." I folded my arms and stared at him expectantly until he sighed, "I'm trying to figure out if I should kill Morelli or not."

I thought about it for a second and then shook my head, "No, this is not his fault. We're working it out," I told him. I pushed the button to five again and the elevator started moving back down, "You forgot something." The doors opened and Julie was standing there with her arms crossed.

"About time!" She got on and I gave her a hug.

"Wow you've grown a lot!" I said. She was a good foot taller than when I'd last seen her, almost as tall as I was, and she looked more like a woman than the girl I remembered. Her hair was dark and long and it was easy to see Ranger in her features. Poor Ranger was gonna be busy keeping boys away from her.

Julie gave me a half smile and reached out to touch my stomach, "So have you." She paused before touching and looked up for permission, I nodded and she rubbed my stomach gently. The baby kicked and she looked up, "WHOA! Dad! Feel this! She grabbed Ranger's hand and pressed it to my belly. The baby moved around and did a flip. Ranger jerked back and then put both his hands on my stomach. I closed my eyes and savored the feeling of his hands on my body, the smell of him washing over me. I moved closer until my tummy bumped against him. I heard a throat being cleared. Oh yeah. Julie. Right. Crap. What was wrong with me? It must be the hormones.

The doors opened and we were on seven. Ranger's hand had moved to my belly to my back and he ushered me off with them. "Julie we'll turn my office into a room for you, for the next few days we'll work something out…" Ranger said.

I giggled, "Julie why don't you go check it out, first door on the left down that hall," I said and pointed her into the right direction before turning to Ranger. "Don't be mad…I hope I didn't over step." I heard Julie's squeal and Ranger raised an eyebrow and walked towards the room. He stopped in the doorway and stared.

I'd gotten a beautiful big white sleigh bed and matching furniture for the room. The walls were painted a lime green and teal blue. There were splashes of tangerine, hot pink and purple. "I hope you like it," I said and Julie hugged me so tight I thought she might squish me.

"It's perfect! Thank you so much!" Her eyes landed on a picture on the bedside table. I had found it in Rangers closet in a box of pictures. It was a snap shot of Rachael on a beach, her stomach jutted out; looking like it was threatening to topple her over. I saw tears form and started to apologize but Julie just hugged me tighter. "Everything is perfect. Thank you Stephanie." She was subdued now but still smiling.

I tugged Ranger out the door to give her some privacy, "I hope that it was okay for me to do that…" I said and suddenly Ranger was kissing me. My stomach was pressed firmly against his and I sighed into his mouth.

I moaned when he stopped. "Steph I haven't been able to make her smile since I got to Miami, she sees you and within minutes is smiling and cracking jokes. You're amazing."

I laughed lightly, "Well I needed practice, I'm going to have to decorate my own house." I said with a smile.

Ranger frowned at me, "Why would you move?" He asked.

I stared for a second, "Uh…well, I love the apartment but it's way too small for me and him." I said and rubbed my belly.

"Him?" Ranger asked and the shook his head, "You're distracting me. No one else ever uses the apartments anymore. We can remodel. Make it all one big unit like this," He said with a big grin. I'd never really seen Ranger as a power tool type of guy but the thought of a remodel had him looking positively giddy. "In fact, I think we'll redo four and six, move you to six and Ella and Louis to four…" Ranger said with a far off look in his eyes.

What had I done? We'll I'd managed to get myself a much bigger apartment with no effort. Huh. I was good.

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**The END! Haha JK. Unless ya'll are skimpy with the reviews...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Alright everyone, I've got a new chapter for you! Everyone dance!!! I hope you enjoy!!

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**November 26th**

The table was set for what quite possibly was the strangest Thanksgiving dinner I would ever have. Somehow Ranger and Julie had ended up with me at my family's dinner. I really had no recollection of having invited them, which Ranger blamed on 'pregnancy brain.'

My relationship with Ranger had changed in the past few weeks, he was careful with me and he'd given me a few hundred smoldering kisses, but never let it move past that. He had gone to my last doctor's appointment with me, over my objections. He was stepping to the shoes he felt Morelli had left empty.

Every time I thought about telling him the truth he would make some comment about how he couldn't believe that Morelli was brushing off his obligations to me, and it made me change my mind. If I told him the truth he'd feel obligated and he'd resent me. Frankly I'd rather keep Ranger as a friend and have to raise the baby myself than have him feel nothing but obligation and resentment towards me.

Ranger had decided quite suddenly that seven needed an overhaul as well as four and six, and as a consequence we were all holed up at the Westin until the construction was done. I thought maybe Ranger would let me help design my new apartment but when I asked about it he merely smiled and told me to "go with the flow." Right, cause Ranger was a go with the flow type of guy.

I sighed and he glanced over from his seat next to me on the couch. His eyebrow went up in question but my mom came bursting into the living room before I could say anything. "I forgot the rolls!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at my mom. My mother didn't forget anything. Especially when it came to holiday dinners. I could see the panic in her eyes, and I jumped up. Okay, I attempted to jump, really my legs and arms kinda milled in circles while my torso stayed firmly in place in the divot on the couch.

Ranger stood and helped me up. "Thanks. I'll go get rolls," I said.

Julie jumped up, "Oh oh! I'll go! I can drive you!" She said excitedly. Julie had gotten her permit a few weeks before and Ranger had been giving her driving lessons. Most of the lessons ended with her storming in our suite crying. I looked at Ranger for permission; he sighed and gave a grudging nod.

I grabbed my purse and Ranger gave his keys to Julie along with a stern look. I belted myself in and waited. She sat and put on her seat belt but then turned to look at me. "What?" I asked.

"Dad usually tells me what to do. In agonizing detail. And gets mad if I don't do it exactly like he says," She told me.

I stared at her for a few seconds, "Uh…drive…to the supermarket," I told her. She gave me a big smile and started the SUV. Julie drove fine as far as I was concerned, she got us to the store in one piece and followed me in. She wondered off while I went for ro

I walked into Joe as I rounded a corner. We stared at each other for moment and then he grabbed my arm and gently pulled me away from the people. "Steph I can't do this anymore. Everyone hates me. No woman will even come near me. You gotta tell people, even if you don't tell them Ranger is the father." Joe told me.

I smiled, "Sorry Joe, go ahead and put the word out that you're not the daddy, I'll do the same. Thanks for everything." I moved to give him a hug and saw Julie. Shit. I said goodbye to Joe and turned to face Julie.

My heart was beating hard and I tried to give her a smile. She was wearing something between a smirk and a scowl. "How much did you hear?" I asked her.

She crossed her arms, "Enough to know I'm going to be a sister."

Crap what could I say to that? I couldn't ask her to keep it a secret. That wasn't fair. Finally I sighed, "Would you please let me tell him?" I asked her. Julie nodded and walked with me to the checkout counter.

Tina was checking people out today and looked at me excitedly, "Is it true that, that," she said, pointing at my stomach, "isn't Joe Morelli's?" She asked. I nodded and she squealed. Jesus.

I let Julie drive without bothering to keep an eye on her. I didn't know how I would tell Ranger, at least I could take a few days to think about it. Julie pulled up to the curb and grabbed the grocery bag before I could.

"We have rolls!" I announced as I walked in. I stopped dead. My mom was standing with her arms folded, Ranger had his blank face on, my sister looked like she'd just heard good gossip, and grandma was smiling at me in a scary way.

"You lied to us?" My mom asked. I nodded and looked away. "Who's the father?" Her tone of voice left no room for negotiation.

I had to try though, "Mom, we'll talk about this later."

"We most certainly will not. If you ever want pineapple upside-down cake ever again you will tell me now."

I looked over to Ranger, "Can I talk to you outside?" My mom's head snapped in his direction. I expected some sort of reaction from Ranger but his blank face stayed in place as he got up and put on his jacket. We walked outside and I sat down on the curb. Ranger sat next to me.

"We're you going to tell me?" He asked. I couldn't place the tone of his voice.

It would be so easy to say, 'of course!' So easy to lie. I gritted my teeth, "No. I wasn't. I didn't want you to feel obligated, to resent me. I know more kids weren't in your plan. I get that. And it's fine." I said. I wasn't sure who I was trying to convince.

"I missed most of Julie's childhood. I won't make that mistake again. If we can't work custody out ourselves…well then we'll call in lawyers." He stood and turned to go.

"Ranger!" I stood up as quick as I could. I had a whole tirade in my head but when I opened my mouth nothing came out. And suddenly I was crying, loud sobs that made my whole body shudder. I thought Ranger feeling obligated to me would be the worst thing, but him hating me couldn't compare.

"Babe, I could never ever hate you." Ranger wrapped his arms around me and started murmuring in Spanish. The only thing I understood was te amo.

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**Reviews would be nice. Suggestions on what you want next are always appreciated. Love you all!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi everyone! I know its been a long time, life's been a little crazy. Hopefully this well help a little! More to come!

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By the time I was done crying my nose was frozen and my fake Uggs had given up the battle to keep my feet warm. I sniffled a little and tried to pull away from Ranger but he held me tight against him.

"Babe…" Ranger trailed off as his hands worked their way into my coat and under my sweater. He'd made sure not touch my stomach whenever he kissed me but now he let his hands roam over me, they were cold as ice as they wandered over my stomach. He stopped on a bump that I knew was the baby's foot and looked at me, the question obvious on his face.

I closed my eyes and sighed, It took me a minute to answer; having his hands on my bare skin had left me breathless. "Foot, it's his foot. I moved closer without meaning to until my stomach bumped against him.

"Eres mio." Ranger said and I made a mental note to find out what that meant. I opened my eyes and found Ranger staring at me. I didn't know what to say, I didn't know where we were now or where we were going. I bit my lip and looked away. "Come on, let's get you two inside, you're freezing."

Everyone looked up from the table as we stepped inside. I looked over the table and smiled, it looked the same as it had ever since I was little. Turkey in front of my dad, waiting to be carved, mashed potatoes next to grandma and on and on.

I sat down across from Grandma and smiled nervously while eyeing the wine my mom was drinking. Ranger settled next to me and I felt his hand rest on my thigh under the table. I sighed and took a drink of water.

I could feel everyone staring at me and I wondered who would be the first one to crack. My mom sighed and started passing around food. I put a dollop of potatoes on my plate and reached for the gravy.

"So when's the wedding?" my mother asked. I looked up at her and frowned while making what I hoped were frantic pleading eyes at her.

Ranger reached over and grabbed the gravy from me; I realized my whole plate was swimming in it. Oops. I plopped my turkey and green bean casserole right on top of my gravy lake and added some salt and pepper.

I opened my mouth and Ranger's voice came out. Oh wait, no, Ranger was just talking. "Mrs. Plum, Stephanie and I haven't talked about what we're going to do next. I know you don't like me much but I'm the father of your grandchild and I'd really appreciate it if you didn't upset his mother by being nosy and disapproving."

I looked to my mother expecting at least Ranger, if not me too, to be banned from pumpkin pie but my mom just nodded and smiled slightly before passing me the rolls. Everyone let out the breath they'd been holding and the table erupted into noise. The girls were chatting noisily, even Julie, with grandma adding her opinions in randomly.

Every time I looked at Ranger he was looking at me with a slight grin on his face and I realized he was happy. Whether he was just happy to be having a son, or wanted to get married or just happy about the taste of the turkey, I had no idea.

Hours later Ranger was helping me into the car and Julie was still chattering nonstop. "Have you thought about names Babe?" Ranger asked me.

I nodded, my eyes heavy, "I like Jensen…and Kai…" Ranger didn't say anything and I figured that meant he hated the names, but Julie's voice came from the backseat, "I think Kai is a good name Steph." I caught Ranger nodding out of the corner of my eye and smiled.

The rest of the ride to the hotel was taken up by Julie's excited chatter about having a little brother and my silent worry about Ranger and I. We seemed okay now but I wasn't sure where we were going from here.

We pulled up to the hotel and Ranger handed the valet key to the poor kid standing outside, looking like he was freezing half to death, along with a generous tip. We rode the elevator up in companionable silence, even Julie seemed to be tuckered out. Ranger opened the door to our suite and checked it out quickly before giving us the all clear. We said goodnight to Julie and Ranger took my hand and led me to his room. I guess that answered one question.

"You need a shower," he told me with a grin and pulled me into the bathroom. He was right, I did. He turned on the water and helped me pull off my sweater and tug off my elastic waist pants. He grinned at my tiny undies and pulled them down my thighs, letting them drop to the floor. My bra came off next. He careful palmed each of my tender, engorged breasts and ran his thumbs of over my nipples, pebbling them into hard rocks. "Dios mio."

His own clothes quickly joined mine and I was struck by the beauty of his body. His creamy mocha skin was flawed only by a few scars, but they only added to the overall picture. His muscles flexed slighty under my gaze and I let my eyes work their way over his pecs and abs, down lower and lower. I grinned when I saw he was hard and ready and then let me eyes finish the ride down over his perfect legs.

He stepped backwards into the shower and I followed him in. It was a little crowded with my stomach between us and I was self conscious of my new curves and stretch marks but Ranger seemed delighted in the changes in my body. He lets his hands run over me inch by inch as if memorizing me.

His right hand dipped in between my thighs and he made a contented sound in the back of his throat when he found me hot, wet and ready for him. Instead of slipping a finger into me though he pulled away and turned me around, dipping my head under the hot spray and soaking my curls.

He squirted some shampoo in his hands and slowly worked them into my hair, massaging my scalp as her washed me. After rinsing he worked in some conditioner and then poured some of his body gel into his hands and started working them over me, massaging my muscles, laying small kisses on my shoulders. He rinsed me completely and quickly washed himself before turning off the water and getting me a towel.

I dried myself quickly and then followed him into the bedroom, he motioned for me to lay down and I did. The room was warm and I didn't make any move to cover myself. Ranger settled himself next to me and latched his teeth onto my ear, causing my hips to rise and my core to get wetter.

His hand found its way back between my thighs, his finger finally dipping into my honey wetness. He groaned into my ear as he worked it into me. And then suddenly my legs were spread and his head was between my thighs, his tongue working over me, into me, until I shuddered my release. It'd been weeks since I'd had an orgasm and this one rocked me, sending my eyes rolling back in my head and curling my toes.

"Babe…how do you wanna…" Ranger didn't finish but I knew what he meant, missionary was obviously out of the question. I needed him deep inside me and I rolled to my knees, gripping the headboard. Ranger made another sounded of contentment. "You sure Babe?" he asked as his cock pressed against my wet pussy.

"Please. God. Now." I moaned. He started pushing himself into me slowly, letting me get used to his size and only stopped when he was fully inside me, his head resting against my cervix, my walls clenching at his length, my lips at his base. We were made for each other in this way. Fitting together so perfectly. He made the contented noise again and started working himself in and out of me in long deep strokes.

Finally at my begging and pleading he started fucking me harder, his cock slamming into me in shallow strokes. He was careful not to hit my cervix but he bumped it a few times and it was these bumps that were sending me over the edge. I reached down and ran a finger against where we were joined, getting my hand slick with my own juices and then rubbed the hard little nub between my folds. I came almost instantly and as my walls clenched around Rangers cock he murmured my name and let out a string of Spanish. He exploded inside of me and I came again as he filled me.

He pulled out of me but before I could move he was licking me, still on my knees, swallowing all the juices that were almost pouring from me. His tongue found my clit and he sucked until I came again and then cleaned me up before allowing me to lay down.

His body cradled around me, his hand protectively placed on my stomach. "Will you marry me Babe?" He asked, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"God, yes," I answered and fell asleep before he could say anything else.

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**So, how was it? And what story do you want to see more of next? **


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